The Jacksonville Jaguars didn’t wait long once they had a chance to get their guy.
After initially getting blocked from interviewing Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen for the same position in Jacksonville, the Jaguars were finally able to interview him over the weekend.
With the Philadelphia Eagles reportedly interested in Nielsen too, the Jaguars wasted no time and hired him as their next defensive coordinator Monday.
Even before the news was officially announced by the Jaguars, reactions to the news began rolling in on social media. Here’s a sampling of some of the tweets about the Jaguars hiring Nielsen:
“Duval: No County For Weak Men.”
– The Ryan Nielsen story https://t.co/gUKrtTLUsG— Sherwood (@BoldCityCap) January 22, 2024
Homerun imo https://t.co/p7JLq0BV6p
— John Shipley (@_John_Shipley) January 22, 2024
Mostly curious to see how he uses the corners who grade well in zone in man if he runs the same scheme he did in Atlanta. Their defense was good at manipulating protections without any edge rushers so that’s a great sign considering we have a real one (hopefully)
— Dilla (@E_Dilla) January 22, 2024
The Falcons under Ryan Nielsen played single-high coverages at a similar rate to the Jaguars in 2023, but featured more man coverage.
Falcons Defense
🔹 Cover 1: 35.5% (2nd)
🔹 Cover 3: 14.9% (31st)Jaguars Defense
🔹 Cover 1: 13.9% (28th)
🔹 Cover 3: 35.8% (10th)#DUUUVAL— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 22, 2024
Some of my Falcons pals are irate they let Nielsen out the door, fwiw.
What he did without many studs as edge rushers has been seen as tremendous. Now he gets Josh Allen and Travon Walker…
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) January 22, 2024
#Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen made an instant impact in his 1 season as DC in Atlanta.
Among areas the #Falcons improved:
—26th to 7th in yards per play allowed
—31st to 3rd in 3rd down defense
—25th to 8th in pass defense
Look forward to what he does in JAX. pic.twitter.com/stvBgBM9wk
— Andrew Gibson (@1010XLAG) January 22, 2024
I think Ryan Nielsen is an excellent hire.
The Falcons D was top 10 in the NFL in passing 3rd down and red zone.
▪️3rd in 3rd down defense (33.8%)
▪️ 4th in red zone defense (45.3%).
▪️doubled sack total 21 in 2022 to 42 2023 #Jaguars #Jags— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) January 22, 2024
We had to sacrifice Nielsen to move on from Art. Still doesn’t suck any less. Next DC has big shoes to fill. Best our defense has looked in many years… pic.twitter.com/bzx3WnTwif
— Carrie (@carrielynnxox) January 22, 2024
Falcons were 12th in EPA/play despite being 32nd in pass rush win rate. Nielsen deserves some credit for making it work. Now he gets Josh Allen. https://t.co/V0F6ztXb52
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) January 22, 2024
For those asking on Ryan Nielsen — the reality is most head coaches are going to bring in most, if not all, of their own guys.
Nielsen is a heck of a DC, but there’s no guarantee whomever the new Falcons HC is was going to keep him.That’s a good fit for him in Jacksonville.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) January 22, 2024
Ryan Nielsen’s defense was up there with 2012 Mike Nolan defense as the most creative and legitimately good defensive unit the Falcons have had in the last 15 years. He will be greatly missed in Atlanta.
— Allen Strk (@allenstrk) January 22, 2024
Great hire for the Jags. Nielsen developed a lot of talent in NO and helped Atlanta become respectable this last season.
Interesting with Jacksonville’s personnel. Nielsen’s fronts will be multiple, but he skews towards even fronts with big DEs https://t.co/DBbflYl1RV
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) January 22, 2024
going from nielsen to patricia will make nihilists of the few remaining positive falcons fans
— charles (“you look good” – andy reid) mcdonald (@FourVerts) January 22, 2024
Everything you need to know about Nielsen straight from a guy who played for him 🔥 https://t.co/nJPB7T9ELc
— Jamal St. Cyr (@JStCyrTV) January 22, 2024
Nielsen's extensive background as a d-line guy is intriguing, though. He should know how to use Travon
— I Hate This App (@AddictedToPa1n) January 22, 2024
Nielsen’s motto-
ATTACK!! AGGRESSIVE!!
Exactly what the Jags need!!
I never heard those words last year https://t.co/qG4SD21Znt
— J-Villains Podcast (@JVillainsPod) January 22, 2024
Ryan Nielsen is a really good hire for the Jaguars!
Did a phenomenal job with the Falcons in his first season with the team. Improvement he made to that defense was impressive.
Jaguars will continue to run a bit of man coverage. Difference is there will be more Safety help… https://t.co/fw6JEsoy0Z
— The GOAT House (@GoatHouseNFL) January 22, 2024
Jaguars hiring Ryan Nielsen as their DC?? That’s rough Colts fans pic.twitter.com/q6M3WldaEd
— CLew 🏈🏀⚾️🥊 (@droppedballspod) January 22, 2024
Duuuval, your new Defensive Coordinator! Ryan Nielsen. 😤🐆
— ⛓️ FLSportsTakes ⛓️ (@FLSportsTakes) January 22, 2024
We’ll have a mix but I hope our base down package is a 4-3 and then a 3-4 on 3rd down. https://t.co/V39TxL2dYU
— Inter Jag (@brandon_mor) January 22, 2024
